Speaking American

Speaking American

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
It took me a bit by surprise, the first time I heard it."You don't speak English."For fuck's sake.  What was I thinking?  Of all of the things that I have ever pulled out of my ass, the notion that I speak English is among the worst.  Sometimes I'm such an audacious shit.  Of course I don't speak English.  I must be speaking...hell, I have no idea.  What language is it that I speak, then?"You speak American."Oh...right.  American.I had to move to France to learn this, that I speak American.  Evidently, anyone who originates from the Unites States is not an English speaker.  We are all American speakers.At least, this is what some of the French have told me.I have no proof, but I'm assuming this means that the Canadians are speaking "Canadian" rather than French or English & that the Brazilians are speaking "Brazilian" rather than Portuguese.To be fair, there are plenty of U.S. citizens who think that they are...
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Free Alphabet Lessons in the Basement

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
One of the most important things about moving to a new country is learning the language. Before I moved from Colorado to France, I had very little knowledge of the French language. The semester of French class I took in my sophomore year had almost vanished completely from my memory by the time I moved here when I was thirty-two.Sure…I had a few useless phrases & words. But I could only go so far on “Hello. I don’t have any diseases. Where is the bathroom thank you very much.”The good part is, the French government wants us to learn French. So much so that they’re willing to foot the bill for some French classes.The letter that they sent me provided the date & time of the class along with the address. The class was scheduled to start at 9am.I found the address – it was a church. It didn’t seem right, but...
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